Right from the opening whistle of week one, it was clear that the Dragons would be a force to be reckoned with as they steered their way toward the Jewish Community Center of Bayonne’s Indoor Soccer Junior Division title. In week two, the feisty Wizards held the Dragons scoreless for most of the first half. Matt Miceli, Nate Cintron, Kyle O’Hara, and Michael Egan carried out the Wizards’ defensive game plan to near perfection. After a few adjustments by the Dragons’ offense, the stage was set for a scoring barrage as Marcelino Soliman and Drew Radil assisted Brayden Cotter on two rapid-fire goals.

Leading 2-0, the Dragons kept the pressure up as Daniel Mena made it 3-0 with a net-rocker off an assist from Drew Radil. While the Dragons’ offense percolated, their defense kept the Wizards hot-shot goal-scorers on ice as Josh Belber, Akshat Thakur, and Alexandra Soliman ball-hawked like pros. Just before the end of the first half, the Dragons reinforced their lead with two more goals as Akshat Thakur and Marcelino Soliman assisted team captain Brayden Cotter on his third and fourth goal of the bout to make it 5-zip, Dragons.

Needing a little magic, the Wizards returned to their winning potion and sent T.J. Wolf and Danny Reyes out on a scoring quest. The move paid off as Wolf assisted Reyes to reduce the Dragons’ lead to 5-1. The Wizards’ magic soon faded as the Dragons’ Brayden Cotter bulled in three more goals to lift his game total to seven as the Dragons soared out to an 8-1 advantage. In spite of the score, the Wizards showed no signs of packing it in as Victor Mendolaro, Michael Egan, and T.J. Wolf mustered surge after surge in hopes of closing the gap.

In the end, the Dragons stayed true to form as Marcelino Soliman zipped in the game’s final goal to seize a 9-1 Dragons’ victory.